Since remarrying, Erika Susan Perdue took up cooking and tended to her garden while her husband was at work as a successful lawyer.

But inside their attractive, newly-rebuilt University Park home, Perdue had another interest — a terrible secret she hid that reflected her darker side. Every day, she downloaded and shared child pornography online -- for about 13 years -- until the FBI arrested her in 2012, court records show.

Perdue, a 43-year-old grandmother, was sentenced Monday by a federal judge to 14 years in prison for transporting and shipping child pornography, which she pleaded guilty to last year. She had faced 20 years in prison, but the government agreed to a reduced sentence based on Perdue’s cooperation with agents.

U.S. District Judge Sam A. Lindsay reluctantly approved the sentencing agreement, saying he had concerns about the case. He cited the more than 4,000 images of child pornography found on Perdue’s computer, and said prosecutors have rarely agreed to such sentence reductions in the past. Lindsay also wasn’t happy that Perdue initially declined to address him to express remorse.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Camille E. Sparks said her office agreed to the lesser sentence because Perdue suffers from “some pretty severe mental health” problems. Perdue attempted suicide while in federal custody in 2012.

Sparks also noted that when FBI agents raided Perdue’s home, she gave them her online screen name, “Classybitch,” which they used to make two other criminal cases.

In one of those cases, Ted Lynn Snider, 43, was convicted last week of several child pornography counts after a two-day trial. The Dallas man had given his password to Perdue, which agents used to access Snider’s files, Sparks said. Agents posing as Classybitch also accessed someone else’s files in a California child porn case, she said.

Perdue’s defense attorney, Deborah Goodall, told the judge that her client is a “longtime user of methamphetamine” who used the drug “on a daily basis.” Goodall said Perdue was taking the drug when she was downloading child pornography and asking others online to share their images with her.

On Facebook, Perdue portrayed herself as a sultry housewife and liked to pose provocatively for photos. Around town, she drove a 2010 Chevrolet Camaro with vanity license plates "MY SYN."

But in court on Monday, Perdue, dressed in orange prison garb with graying hair, looked significantly older than her age. She sobbed and occasionally shook during the sentencing hearing. In brief comments, she told Lindsay she deeply regretted her actions and was “very remorseful.”

“I lost two granddaughters to this,” Perdue said.

Lindsay also ordered Perdue to pay a $10,000 fine and $5,000 in restitution to one of the victims in some of the photos she had. The girl is identified by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children as "Vicky."

Perdue must serve eight years probation when she is released and register as a sex offender.